Khoa luan STUDENT THESISInfluence of relevant actors on the outcomes of community forestryin Thuan Chau district, Son La province

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF FORESTRYFOREST RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT FACULTY REPORT STUDENT THESIS Influence of relevant actors on the outcomes of community forestry in Thu

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF FORESTRY

FOREST RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT

FACULTY

REPORT STUDENT THESIS Influence of relevant actors on the outcomes of community forestry

in Thuan Chau district, Son La province

Supervisor : Dr Ngo Duy BachStudent name : Nguyen Gia PhongStudent ID :1354030572

Class : K58B Natural Resource ManagementAdvanced Education Program

Developed in collaboration with Colorado State University, USA

Hanoi, September 2018

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

1

First of all, I want to express my gratefulness to teachers of Vietnam NationalUniversity of Forestry for establishing me to complete this research I would like to thank all theofficers of Chieng Bom Commune,Muoi Noi Commune,Tong Lenh Commune and Bon PhangCommune, officers of KFW7 and project 661 management staffs for supporting necessary thingsand providing me documents I take this opportunity to record my sincere thanks to all the facultymembers of the Faculty of Forest Resource and Environment Management for their help andencouragement I am deeply indebted to my supervisor Dr Ngo Duy Bach who’s givingmotivation and valuable ideas help me to complete this study I also thank the local governmentand local people of said communes for helping me during my study time.

Hanoi, September 2018

Student Nguyen Gia Phong

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES

ABSTRACT

The study Community forestry is a model of forest managementry that has a significantportion of responsibility for forest management is shifted from the state down to lowercommunity levels (Devolution)

2018 is the year where the KFW7 KfW7 project and the 5 years management plancompleted along with the main goal of power decentralization Compare to observation data fromprevious years, the outcome results of community forests of Thuan Chau district can beconsidered a complete success with the influence of relevant actors being decentralized Alldesignated villages in Thuan Chau district that has community forest given to them, have fullycovered the community forest with AII and above forest Decision making is now transferred tothe Village chief under the observation of the commune and local ranger, whose now will domostly supportive roles Exploitation limits stay the same to the 5 years management plan andfinally, no major damages was done to the forest ever since the 5 years management plan waslaunch.The Commune that is not involved with the KFW7 also has the similar results Overall,The Economic,Ecological and social outcomes of the community forest of Thuan Chau districthas increased moderately

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Community forestry is a type of forestry model where significant roles in forest management to

be decentralized (forest devolution), whereby the local community plays a significant role inforest management and land use decision making Its aim is to aim to increase accessibility fordirect forest uses and their decision-making processes

Thuan Chau district is one of the districts involving inthat has involvement of KFW7 project andthe 5 years management plan that mainly revolves around managing community forests As 2018will bethe a sensitive year for the community forest of Thuan Chau when they reached the endphase of a pilot district because all the project for the community forest from the state will reachtheir end phase in on 31th December 2018, resulted 824 hectares of community forest out of 6000hectares in total forest area implemented in Thuan Chau district

In Vietnam, Community forests have historically been closely connected to the lives and beliefs

of the resident communities, as they rely on the forests and forest resources for survival.Confronted with the decrease and degradation of forests as a result of practices like legal/illegalwood harvesting and slash and burn agriculture (Castella et al 2005; Meyfroidt and Lambin2008a, 2008b, 2009), the Vietnamese government has acknowledged community forestmanagement as an effective practice garnering state concern and encouragement.The model ofcommunity forest will surely be expanded in the future to other provinces Therefore, assessmentsfor future improvement of community forest will be needed to make a better management, which

leads to my study of: “Influence of relevant actors on the outcomes of community forestry in

Thuan Chau district, Son La province” to provide insights for future management in Thuan

Chau district as well as information for the model of community forest in the future

CHAPTER I GOAL, OBJECTIVES AND METHODS

The goal of this study is to make assessment of the influences from relevant actors on the outcomes of community forestry in Thuan Chau district, Son La province

The objectives of this study are threefold:

- To Identification of actors and their interest in community forest

- To Evaluate the outcomes of community forestry

- To Estimate how actors’ interests influence on CF’s outcomes

1.3.1 Study site

This study was conducted in Chieng Bom,Tong Lenh,Bon Phang and Muoi NoiCommune, Thuan Chau District, Son La Province, ranging from 30 to 50 km away fromcentral of Son La city

Thuan Chau district has an area of 1.533,4 km2 with population of 147.374people (Linh:2017) The topography is high mountains Over 80% of area is at theelevation of 1000m

The climate of all Commune is high mountain tropical climate with average temperature offrom 18 to 21.40oC In rainy season, rainfall is from 2500 to 2700mm and average temperature of 2725 to 30oC

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Figure 01.

Map of Chieng Bom,Tong Lenh Bon Phang and Muoi Noi Commune, Thuan Chau

District, Son La Province

The study was based on forest status map and pilot research about site conditions tochoose locations to conduct surveys and collect data According to reports,Thuan Chau isareone of the provinces that have the most remarkable community forestry activities in the country

(Ngai 2009; Sang 2009) Because of the variety of communities, there is no common, fits-all community forestry model that has been applied; rather, various models appropriate tothe provinces’specific conditions are needed Social and natural characteristics such as the highpoverty rate, high concentration of ethnic minorities, and amount of forest cover -in tandemwith a long history of social forestry (Lung and Anh 2001)- are advantages for the effectiveimplementation of community forestry practices These practices in turn directly contribute tothe alleviation of poverty and hunger in the region.

one-size-1.3.1.1 Criteria on research site selection

Because there exists a wide variety of community groups currently in different phases

of community forestry, the case studies for this research were selected according to several

factors: the condition of the community forests, and with and/or without the support of

international donors (Development phase was excluded since all CF of Thuan Chau has already reached their Advanced stage) Field observations revealed that some groups have implemented community forestry activities without the support of international donors, while others have

already been established or are in the process of formal registration with international venues of support

ForestType

ForestValue

7

Phang n4

conservation purposes

The Selected cases are located in 4 communes within Thuan Chau district,Son La

Province 6 of 8 cases have been selected as part of a pilot project in community forestry

supported by international donors (KfW7) since 2010 (Anonymous-3 2006); the others have no external donor involvement The criteria for rich and poor forests are based on the classification

of forest status issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) (Huong 2009) Community forest management is run by the Community Forest User Group Committee, normally led by village patriarchs

1.3.2 Data collection

1.3.2.1 Network survey

To identify actors involved in the community forest network, the first interviews with

selected user groups have been conducted to get information of organizational structure, forests and respective tasks of the committee In addition, the questions on the partners

from whom the users’ committee has received information and supports have been raised This allowed the study to get general notion of actors whom the users’ committee was in collaboration with At the same time, power elements were also examined in detail

through quantitative measurements

1.3.2.2 Questionnaire

Questionnaires used for survey and interview will be based upon the Krott’s survey

model However, the actual survey process will be improvised so the surveyors can

provide information without troubles (see appendix 1)

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1.3.3 Actor- Power Analysis

Since the Community forest of Thuan Chau district has come to their final phase that has the decentralized decision-making authority , The Actor-Power Analysis will use the Actor-centred power frame work (ACP) as well as comparing the frequencies of actors involved.ement between initial and advanced stage

1.3.4 Evaluation on the community forestry outcomes

Evaluate the outcomes of CF under three Criteria:

- Economic outcomes: income, products and services gained from community forestry

activities (Mahanty et al 2009)

- Ecological outcomes: The Ecological health of the forest such as forest

growth/status, biodiversity etc etc (Mahanty et al 2009)

- Social outcomes: Access and control over Information and decision making

(Mahanty et al 2009)

Table 1.3.4 Outcome evaluation of Community forestry

Social

direct forest users ▪ Access to decision making

▪ Access to forest land and resources

Full access to information, decision making and

forest land and resources Economical Poverty alleviation ▪ Forest products

users ▪ Community development

No access to forest products and no cash money

in livelihood

on level of financed through community forestry and or some

improved livelihood

financed through community forestry and or financial

pay outs which significantly improve the live standard

No management or uncontrolled management

on forest growth activities and biodiversity or

reduced forest resources

acceptable proof, like a monitoring system or report

stable natural ecosystem related biodiversity

(Source: Schusser 2013)

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CHAPTER II RESULTS 2.1 Identification of actors and their interest in community forest

2.1.1 Actors in community forestry

Table 2.1 Actors identification and their role in community forestry

POLITICAL

Actors who is selected by thepeople to fulfill a public mandateand who can legitimize bindingdecisions

- Development of policies

- Provision of information and capital

- Technical and advisory services

Government And Ministers;Representatives of political party(District People’s Committee andCommunal People’s Committee);

- Coordination and networking Natural Conservation authority,

Police, Military

Forest

Administration FA

Public administrations focusing

on forest tasks - Guide and implement FLA.- Support community in building local

regulations on forest management

- Organize the forest protection network inthe community

- Department of Agriculture and

- Rural Development (DARD);

- District Forest Protectiondepartment;

- Management board of NaturalReserved Areas

Traditional

Actor who is legitimized to fulfill apublic mandate and who can legitimizebinding decisions for a community

- Representing the culture

- Leading the people

- Advising people

- Dispute solving

- Traditional courts

Traditional authoritysuch as patriarchs, village leaders

SIDA (Swedish International

- Capacity building

- Research and education Development Cooperation agency)

Association

Asc Actor that articulates interests of

the group he represents andattempts to implement them bylobbying politicians and publicadministrations (Krott 2005)

- Service provider

- Negotiation with actors

- Public relations, advisory andextension services

- Participation and labor providers

- Holders of ‘local knowledge’ Land andForest management community development

Community forest committee;Board of village forestmanagement

Forest

Actor using forests for production orconsumption of

products and services

- Markets for timber products

- Provision of information

- Employment

Forest companies

Consultant Con Actor Providing information, capacitybuilding, funds and management for

another actor based on a contract

- Publication and documentations

2.1.1.1 Political actors

a Politicians

Politicians (e.g., government officials, ministers, parliament members, representatives of political parties at all levels) are those who are involved in influencing public policy and decision making; thisincludes people who hold decision-making positions in government

Political parties are the key actors and decision makers in local government entities According to assigned authorities and responsibilities (Law on “organization of people’s council and people’s committee”, by Parliament of Vietnam Socialist Republic on 26th Nov 2003)(LA-5), the politicians with decision-making powers in the realm of (community) forestry are found in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) at the state level and the Provincial, District and

Communal People’s Committees at lower levels

Most developing countries have been implementing decentralization in order to effectively coordinateand manage local development Local governments and district/communal people’s committees are thus considered decentralized agents of the central government (that is, in a smaller area as compared

to the national one) by locally elected politicians They provide a legislative platform from which they can strengthen decentralized forest governance in the country, allow local self-determination, and facilitate local knowledge when dealing with local problems and issues

b Forest Administration (FA)

The main forest administration bodies are the Central Ministry of Forestry and whatever

administrations exist at the regional and local levels According to Krott (2005:125), “Forest

Administration takes on the executive tasks in the state, i.e it implements political programs in the form of concrete measures” In practice, these administrations develop a large number of diverse institutions which span everything in the forest sector from special forestry offices to general forest administration (Krott 2005).Provide advisory and extension services as well as the country’s overall forest management are the discrete tasks of the Forest Administration To conduct these tasks, the Forest Administration has a built-up, distinct structure with expert staff and procedures across local, district, provincial, and state offices Depending on the general public administration, forestry

administration follows the theory of bureaucracy but is supplemented by several elements of private business management (Krott 2005)

d International donor organization (Dnr)

Donor agencies are a complex group to other actors Acting as international agencies of government

or multilateral organizations, who, by reason of their nature or funding, are able to influence

government policy (Hobley thus 2004:34) They could be distinguished as International financial institutions or Bilateral donors,both sets of donor institutions have sustainable development goals linked to poverty alleviation, as established through the Millennium Development Goals

(Hobley :2004).The approaches and tools they use to affect change in the forestry sector are very diverse

e Associations (Asc)

Associations represent the direct interests of the forest while also helping forest users to establish

policies They are organizations which articulate the interests of the groups they represent, and attempt to implement them by lobbying politicians Krott (2005:69).Generally speaking, associations are geared towards three major tasks: i) representing the interests of the forest sector, ii) representing the employer’s interests, and iii) representing the employee’s interests (Krott, 2005:70).Although associations do not represent the entire range of interests regarding forest management, they exert significant influence over forest management policy by lobbying, initiating lawsuits, and other means (Kearney and Bradley 1998) The structure of an association is determined by the formal and

informal rules and regulations that adhere the association to a democratic structure; in turn, this structure enables members to influence the association’s activities (Krott 2005:77)

f Support associations (NGOs)

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are defined as “formal (professionalized) independent societal organizations, whose primary aim is to promote common goals at the national or internationallevel” (Martens 2002:12) The term ‘NGO’ refers to non-state, independent, and formal not-for-profitorganizations which deliver services in the field of forestry In many cases, NGOs play a crucial role

as project facilitators and in capacity building, where they help to manage conflict within/between communities and bridge divergent views between the local people and governmental agencies In some countries, NGOs are seen as power brokers between governments and communities and are such used to implement projects (Shackleton et al 2002) Along with government actors, they are significant in shaping community forestry policies Based on their level of operation, NGOs can be either local, national, or international

- Local NGOs function at district and commune levels Being local, they are small and have defined objectives The role of local NGOs is to help the target community make changes for itself (Lainie Thomas 2005)

well National NGOs have the capacity to operate at the national level They will lobby politicians or execute tasks on behalf of their government

- International NGOs are lobby groups for countries or international organizations that exercise their activities in more than one country Their policy mandates and budgetary allocations are defined by foreigners, and they may act as project implementing agencies, funding agencies, or both In most countries, international NGOs together with national and local NGOs have been instrumental in putting community forestry into practice The main interests of these NGOs is the sustainable

management of forests, alleviation of poverty, and Research

2.1.1.2 Economical actors

a Forest user group representatives (FUGR)

As the name implies, forest users are the immediate users of a forest; in community forestry, the term may refer to individual direct forest users with partial legal rights to forest access and the decision-making process They are a comlex group with varied interests in forests, including fuel wood, non-wood products, hunters, encroachers, and livestock herders When a group of direct forest users has mutually recognized rights to use a particular forest, they become known as a forest user group (FUG) Such groups can be either formal or informal organizations that have been authorized to manage local forests in a sustainable manner (e.g., traditional authorities) Conservation,

management, and forest utilization are the major concerns of forest user groups A users’ committee

is the executive body of the user group; this committee coordinates and negotiates with the

government/other relevant actors and over sees forestry and organizational duties

b Forest entrepreneurs (Fb)

Motivated by profit, the private sector plays a crucial role in forestry businesses Private operators in forestry have the capacity to greatly assist forest communities by providing technical expertise, capital, and market access Big concessionaires, timber industries, furniture industries, saw mills, contractors/loggers, and small scale fellers are examples of private sector actors in forestry It is the role of the state’s Forest Administration to facilitate linkages between groups of forest users and

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timber operators However, these powerful actors in most cases tend to ignore local regulations and controls, undermining the authority of community institutions and appropriating resources at the expense of local community members (Shackleton et al 2002).Most consulting refers to Research, technical procedures (e.g., equipment use), capacity development (training), marketing, and financial promotion (entrepreneurship development) A consultant’s interests in forestry are thus service delivery, employment, and profit making.

c Consultants (Con)

Consultants are individuals or private organizations in forestry that provide forest advisory services;

as such, they can influence forest policy with their high competency in and knowledge of the subject

By providing information on improved methods with which to utilize and protect the forest, their clients are able to make improvements without additional political pressure Most consulting refers to Research, technical procedures (e.g., equipment use), capacity development (training), marketing, andfinancial promotion (entrepreneurship development)

2.1.1.3 Societal actors

a Research institutions (RI)

Research institutions help generate knowledge in community forestry Their role is to train

professionals in community forestry practices, Provide technical support to actors, carry out based Research on different modalities and act as a supporter to the development of community forestry Forestry Research institutions are established by governments at different levels with the goal of sustainably conserving forest ecosystems and contributing to local community development via things like national parks or protected areas Their interests mostly focus on natural conservation and assisting local communities in socio-economic development (Nelson 1987)

field-ab Media (med)

‘Media’ refers to the various means of communication required to disseminate community forestry information, including television, radio, and newspapers With public attention and awareness of forests, the media is simultaneously regarded as representing the common thinking and existing as a product of either state-owned or private enterprises The media as a product must be oriented towards markets by fulfilling the demands of recipients and advertising to customers (Kleinschmit and Krott 2008)

Summary: how many identified actors involve in community forestry in the research site? to what extent do they influence community forestry activities in this area?

The Forest Administration (FA) and Forest User Group Committees (FUGR) are the core actors of the network, driven Provincial Government (PG) and District Government (DG) The village

authority also gets involved in community forestry considerably Committees are established by commune administrations and are generally chaired by the commune administrator

Through 8 cases studies, 11 relevant actors were identified Minus two from the standard model because Thuan Chau’s Community forest is not influenced by the Management board of Natural reserved area and the State Forest Company Also, through the study, I have learned that only

powerful actors has enough power to influence the processes of CF, therefore, my main focus of finding interests will be based on the interests of powerful actors of Thuan Chau’s CF

Table 2.2 Power diagnosis summary of case studies

No

Forest user group

No

Casesinvolved

No Cases identified as powerful actors according to power element

DominantInformation

After the decentralization with the help of KfW7 project, the distribution of power to each element for most of the cases has become mostly similar to each other While forest administration remains one of the most powerful actors in forestry, The Forest User Group Committee and Traditional authority group is now also gaining all three powerful element in all cases

2.1.3 Actors’s interests

Through 8 study cases of Thuan Chau District, the interests of the actors can be summarized

in the following table Those who has no power over any element are excluded

Name of powerful actor Main interest

Forest administration - Control over the forest and forest resources

- Sustainably management of the remaining forest areas

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DG

- Preserve and improve biodiversity as well as increase forest area

- Strengthen self-control by end users through capacity building for FUGR in forest management

Local government - Improve local infrastructure as well as living condition

- Strengthen self-control by end users

- Poverty alleviation

Community forest

committee

- Decide on forest management

- Get higher economic income from forest products

- Hygienic water source by green forest

Donors - Increase forest coverage and biodiversity

- Improve local’s life through CF activitiesTraditional authority - Control of local forest users

- Higher income for end users from forest for peopleDistrict government -Control of local people

- Improve the local people’s life

- Supporting Empowerment to local community in forestmanagement

Consultant -Getting and keeping its contract

- Sustainable forest management

Forest administration is formally driven by the task of sustainable management and enhancing

biodiversity So their interest in Ecological rest at middle level and will slowly aims towards higher level over time Since this case is about Community forest, one of the FA’s aim is to strengthen the grasp of end-user Their desire for social outcomes is medium with the result of end-users having limited space but some empowerment One notable thing is that the FA is now expecting medium outcomes of economical while still prioritize the ecological part more

2.1.3.2 Local government

The commune people's committee under the management of the district people’s committee functions

as the state management of socio-economic development activities at the regional level The formal interests of the local authority are related to: a) setting up the annual socio-economic development plan; b) setting up the state budget, collecting revenue and carrying out expenditures in the region; c) managing land use and building infrastructure according to legislation; and d) building communal infrastructural works (Law on “organization of people’s council and people’s committee”, 26th Nov 2003)(LA-5)

As a political institution implementing socio-economic development tasks, the local authority is interested in greening the forest and maintaining forest end users’ subsistence Therefore, middle outcomes for all ecological and economic aspects are estimated One thing to note is that The local

government’s implementation of forestry tasks in the region depends on the action and orientation of the forest ranger force

2.1.3.3 Community forest committees

As a representative body of forest users, the FUGR’s members (the elites among the locals) are elected by forest users to organize and manage the allocated community forest and deploy CF

activities such as community forest protection and collecting non-timber forest products in the

interest of the forest users A community forest committee is an official organization approved by the chairman of the local government The FUGR’s interests thus involve the formal role the group plays and, more informally, the strengthening of its resources and influence In addition, the community forest committee is strongly influenced by the forest administration and donors, both of which were crucial in its foundation The FUGR, also part of the users, will more likely to prior in Economy than Ecology Also, due to their unfavorable condition of natural (Most are mountainous areas with little agriculture land), their lives are more depended on the forest resources and the forested land This dependence tells that forest protection and livelihood assurance are the issue that has the same point

By partaking in the CF practices, the FUGR desires medium economic and ecological incomes while expecting a low social incomes as the FUGR wants to control the final end user as much as possible (Decision No 127/QĐ-UBND of ChiengBom commune people’s committee on “Approving the operating regulation of the Community Forest Management Board”, issued on 25th Nov 2011 )

(LA-3)

2.1.3.4 Donor

For Thuan Chau’s community forest, KfW7 was the donor actor cooperated and piloted the area.The long-term objectives of the project are to restore the watershed forest ecosystems; protect irrigation systems; sustainably utilize forest resources; conserve biodiversity; and contribute to hunger

elimination and poverty alleviation To do so, KfW7 has implemented the following specific

objectives: (i) afforest available species in the areas to regenerate the natural forest; (ii) community forest management; and (iii) biodiversity conservation This project also aims to diversify the

incomes of the local people through project and CF activity outcomes (Anonymous-3 2006)

As a branch of Department of Forestry Development, KfW7’s prior objective is to o maintain and protect the remaining forest areas; afforest bare lands and hills corresponding to the priority policy of the state government; and contribute to poverty alleviation and hunger elimination of the designated sites Their interest is always to reach the highest economic and ecological outcomes possible, puttingtheir expectation to high They had low expectation of social outcomes in the initial phase but

believed that the end user to have medium outcomes once they’re done

2.1.3.5 Traditional Authority

Elected from the most respected person in a community by the villagers This individual will then link the local government and the community; informs the locals of plans, instruction and decision bythe local government as well as to move them to partake the activities

The traditional authority is an informal body and all activities of this individual are guided by the forest administration, consultants, and donors Similar to the FUGR, This individual seeks control over the end user, thus not expecting high Social outcomes The traditional authority would like to see forests with good growth and a higher income for the final end users leading to expectation of high economic and medium ecological outcomes

agricultural and forestry development; (2) reckoning up the change of agricultural and forestry land and the others; and (3) implementing and being accountable for the evaluation, registration, and granting of permits under professional bodies.Pol_2 works as a counselor and assists the district people’s committee in state management over environmental issues and natural resources such as land, mineral resources, water resources, etc.

For the D_pol1, their main goal is quite similar to KfW7 so their interest about Economy and

Ecological outcomes rests at Medium but since they don’t have direct contact to the end user (Districttier) with political strong body pushing its implementation Their Social expectation is low

Meanwhile, D_pol2 main concerns is not involved with any economy or ecological issues, giving them no interests for a specific desire for said outcomes Following with a low social interest

2.1.3.7 Consultant

Because a consultant is an independent body working under a signed contract with the State Project Management Board, The tasks of this individual are to advise the Board on organizing and executing the project.the consultant is primarily in direct contact with local forest users, in particular the

community forest committee and the Project Management Board at the local level.in this case,Its the

Thuan Chau Forest Protection Management Board.

However, the consultant is also an informal member of staff under MARD; tasks undertaken by the consultant thus support the donor project by mobilizing local community participation in community forestry activities As a result, the social outcome is estimated to be medium for the forest end users This actor also expects to build the local community’s capacity for improving their socio-economic status; he therefore expects middle outcomes in economic and ecological terms for local forest end users

Figure 2.2 Summarize of Actor’s desired outcomes (See appendix 3)

3.1 Evaluate the outcomes of CF

3.1.1 Social outcomes

3.1.1.1 Forest use and accesses

Table 2.4 Access chart of forest users over the forest and forest resources

Forest uses Prior Community forest practices Change

practice Free access Limited permit Ban of access

* Agro-Forestry Practices

Seasonal food crops Free x

-* None Timber Forest

products

Branches for fuel Free x

-Notes: (-) means decrease; (0) means no change; (+/-) means insignificant change

In community forestry in Vietnam, state-centered policies allowed the state to control forestland and forest resources, giving only limited access to forest users, households, and communities (Ngai 2009; Tình and Nghị 2012) The passing of two acts—the Land Law(approved in 2013) (LA-6)and the Forest Protection and Development Law (2004)(LA-7) was the start of the devolution of power from forest management to individuals and communities (Sikor 2001) However, it also limited the rights

at local level The rights to make land classification and approval of land use planning was given to district, provincial and central government, but these could only be used for forestry purposes if the land was classified as forestry land

Subsequent decrees and instructions instructed that natural forests and forested land in important watersheds are not be allocated to households, but rather to communities, districts, state forest

enterprises, or forest management boards These entities in turn would sign protection contracts with individuals and households with small payments for protection activities and articles restricting their utilization of the forests

Table 2.5: Restricted activities in community forest

Activities Restrictions Cases

Slash and burn Only cultivating in the planned areas, but

must follow technical instruction of forest Administration.

8

21

Fire use Prohibit using fire in the community forest to

collect honey, and individual purposes

8

Forest products Individual must apply and get approval of

community forest committee

8

Timber Timber exploitation is only allowed in dry

season and ensured the correctness of species and quantity as approved plan

6

Non Timber Forest Products Only harvest for household demand and

comply with approved quantity and schedules

8

Hunting Stringently prohibit wildlife hunting in

community forests, except mice

Table 2.6: Forest protection ensured by rules and regulations

O r g a n i z e d p a t r o

-Notes: (+) existed,(0)not existed,(-) not observed

Commitment and local regulation are available in all cases, organized patrol is also fully available, they also received incentives of “receiving 30-40% of the fines earned from users caught violating theregulations”

Table 2.7: Infringement cases of the community forests

No.

Communit

y forest Timber cut Slash and burn

NTFP collection Hunting Notes

Forest protection Forest uses

1 Sang

Inaccessible

by forest users

Forest users involved

in giving needs from forest; plans prepared

by Donor, forest administration, and consultant

Forest users encouraged on activities of forest protection and guided

to select trees for specific purposes

Timber defined

by forest administratio n NTFPs collected for subsistence

Forest allocation was strictly decided by the management board.The needs of forest user act as initial objective then the planning with assistance from FA,Donor and consultant will be held All cases are encouraged in forest protecting activities, the 6 cases that has I_Donor involved has some more specific encouragement Forest users can have decision making in collected NTFPs but Timber are strictly limited to the FA They also don’t have access to important information such as silvicultural operations or statistic data for the five years forest management plan However, in the case of insight, Forest users are now having basic knowledge of CF’s function, a significant change compare to 5 years ago when they all answer that they have no idea what community forest is and simply comply

to the Local authority and the FA

3.1.2 Economic outcomes

3.1.2.1 Products from forestry land

Because of lacking of agricultural land, Cultivation might also be applied under the forest canopy or between forest sections (Agro-forestry model) One thing to note is that the people of all Commune are shifting from planting crops to Coffe trees as their primary source of income

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to gather detail data of the income from the Coffe source but through self-observation and interviewing the forest users and news from the media The Income from Coffe